From Buzz To Bust: Dubai Chewy Cookie Hype Crumbles As Consumers Cool On Trend

 
It was only a month ago that the sensational Dubai chewy cookie was an insanely popular treat, often requiring hours of waiting to gain a limited purchase. But despite the fad sweeping across the country, its swift decline has already begun, with easier accessibility to the treat dampening the hype.

A 33-year-old office worker in Seoul, surnamed Han, is someone who has grown tired of the dessert. She once treated its scarcity like a personal challenge, buying one from a different shop every day — from western Seoul's Yeouido to Dangsan — chasing the buzz that surrounded the hard-to-find treat.


Often called “Dujjonku,” the dessert's nickname is a portmanteau of “Dubai” and the Korean words for “chewy” and “cookie.”
 
 
“At the height of the trend in January, I treated it like a challenge, eating one every day,” Han said. She was enchanted by the nutty richness of the pistachio spread and the crisp, delicate texture of the kadayif — the finely shredded and toasted phyllo dough extensively used in Middle Eastern cuisine — all enveloped in a layer of marshmallow.  
 
“I bought them from many different places, but since I don’t actually like very sweet things, I got tired of them quickly,” said Han, who also even listened to songs inspired by the chocolate cookies. Six of the cookies have now sat untouched in her refrigerator for more than a week, as she no longer has to challenge herself to get her hands on the treat. She has also grown tired of the extreme sweetness of the cookie, which reflects a shift many consumers are experiencing — a signal that the craze may be cooling.
 
Despite their high price of up to 10,000 won ($7) per cookie, roughly the cost of a full meal in Seoul, Dujjonku became wildly popular in Korea, inspiring new items such as Dubai chewy burgers, cocktails and even gimbap (rice rolls wrapped in seaweed). The trend took hold not only at cafes and bakeries but also at restaurants and street vendors. But as the once hard-to-find treat became more widely accessible, some consumers, put off by its polarizing flavor, began looking ahead to the next dessert trend.
 
Searches for the cookies on portal giant Naver have dropped sharply since their peak in the second week of January, following steady growth from December, according to Naver DataLab.

 


Cooling craze, high costs
 
Cafes and bakeries selling these cookies are feeling the impact firsthand.  
 
“Sales have already dropped by half compared to the peak,” said an operator of a franchise cafe in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi. “We’re only selling the Dubai chewy cookies now because we have leftover ingredients. Once these run out, we don’t plan to sell any more. We’ve also canceled any ingredient orders that could still be canceled.” The owner added that the profit margin for the treat is very slim in comparison to the ingredient costs.
 
Pistachio prices have fallen recently along with the decline in the popularity of the treat. The price for 180 grams (6.3 ounces) of pistachios from Sinsung F&B fell 18 percent from 10,900 won in early January to 8,990 won on Monday, according to price comparison app Fallcent.
 
Pistachio imports to Korea totaled 2,001 tons, worth 33 billion won, last year — more than double the 833 tons, worth 1.3 billion won, imported in 2020 — according to National Tax Service data submitted to Rep. Chung il-young of the liberal Democratic Party. The strong demand raised the price of pistachios per ton by more than 80 percent, from 15 million won in January last year to 28 million won in the same month this year.
 
A “Dubai Cookie Map,” which tracks the treat’s availability on Naver Map, shows that cafes have hundreds of Dubai chewy cookies in stock. One cafe in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, has more than 3,300 of the cookies in stock — a figure, the owner said, which demonstrates that purchases have “significantly dropped.” The owner added that the cookies are labor-intensive to produce, as each one must be made by hand, one at a time.
 


Will the overseas hype last?


While the fad is fading in Korea, the cookies are gaining recognition abroad, boosted by popular celebrities sharing videos of themselves enjoying the treat.

 
“Dujjonku is rapidly gaining popularity in Hong Kong as famous K-pop idols such as Jang Won-young [of girl group IVE] and star chefs like Ahn Sung-jae have posted related content on social media,” an employee at a local Hong Kong cafe told the Hong Kong office of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra).  
 
The employee added that such content has sparked the curiosity of Hong Kong consumers, leading to explosive demand. The treats are available only in limited quantities each day, and stores are managing sales through a WhatsApp-based reservation system.  
 
In an interesting turn of events, Dujjonku has, in fact, also made its way to the United Arab Emirates.

 
Time Out, a London-headquartered magazine published by Time Out Group, picked the treat as one of nine food trends that will take off in Dubai this year. “They’re small but mighty, with a gooey, stretchy centre,” it described the dessert. “Given Dubai’s love of pistachio-loaded sweets, expect this trend to land here very soon.”

 
“The lifespan of hit products in the food and beverage industry is shrinking as trends spread rapidly on social media,” said Seo Yong-gu, a business professor at Sookmyung Women’s University. “Dujjonku’s cycle moved even faster as it quickly expanded from bakeries to cafes and restaurants, diminishing its exclusivity. Because it isn’t factory-made and uses an accessible recipe, consumers could easily buy the ingredients and recreate it at home.”

 
He added, “As Dujjonku gains traction overseas, it also highlights Korea’s ability to develop inventive products using fresh ingredients.”

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]